


Clock In, Clock Out

by Jason_M_Lee



Series: Nibbles-verse [5]
Category: Devil May Cry, Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Angst with a Happy Ending, Aunt-Nephew Relationship, Crack Fusion, F/M, Family Bonding, Gen, Light Angst, Uncle Dante (Devil May Cry), Uncle-Nephew Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-14
Updated: 2019-06-14
Packaged: 2020-05-07 13:37:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19210537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jason_M_Lee/pseuds/Jason_M_Lee
Summary: Big job, messy results. At least Dante anticipated that.Separate re-post.





	Clock In, Clock Out

**Author's Note:**

> _Devil May Cry_ © Capcom; _Fullmetal Alchemist_ © Hiromu Arakawa, Square Enix, Viz Media, Aniplex

The front door creaked open, but Dante didn't look up from the typewriter that he had been poking away at. Lady had insisted that he keep case files of every job he took, as well write up on the older ones. He had initially resisted the idea, but seeing how Nero wasn't old enough to read certain hunting texts yet and was already showing interest in following his footsteps, the half-devil eventually acquiesced. The typewriter came about after both nephew and hunting partner bluntly told him his normal writing was worse than even a doctor's note.  
  
"If you need to answer nature's call, it's in the back. If you're here because you think this is one of those costume shops, there's a better one two blocks over. And if you think-  
  
"-that this is the location for certain types of 'dirty jobs' to be handled by certain types of 'handymen', then I believe that I'm at the right place, Mr. Alighieri," a slightly older woman's voice rasped out in amusement.  
  
Turning his head, Dante studied the woman with streaks of gray in her black hair who was settling into one of the chairs across from his desk. While her clothes didn't quite scream money, her bearing and the purse's design pointed at older money. The guy who looked about his age staying near the door - while trying not to wrinkle his nose at the obvious chaos - resembled the woman in both facial features and scent, indicating a family member. The suit he wore looked ridiculously new, but that could be because of a really good dry cleaner and being good with ironing. Although upon noticing the demon skulls impaled by various blades on the wall behind Dante, the man's attitude turned a bit more cautious.  
  
And then there was that weird hint of melancholic fondness in the woman's green eyes when she looked at Dante as she crossed a leg.  
  
"Call me Dante. You have a name, lady?" Fingers twirled a pen after digging out a somewhat abused legal pad from under a pile of books.  
  
"Mustang, Chris Mustang. The boy behind me is my nephew, Roy."  
  
Some minor eye rolling at the "boy" reference, but he nodded his head in greeting.  
  
While he was never one for taking notes, Lady's suggestion of doing so had resulted in more amicable clients, probably regarding appearances, and so he decided to keep the habit. "And what brings a madame like you to my shop that'd require handling a 'dirty job'? Couldn't find a better contractor?"  
  
An un-ladylike snort of amusement, putting away the cigarette that she had been about to light up after he narrowed his eyes at the object. "Due to certain circumstances out of my control, the board that I'm a part of had decided to host one of our upcoming annual charity galas at a different venue. Normally, it'd be held at the civic center down in Cabot that we had been using for the last several years, but one of the board members had insisted on a different event hall and demanded... certain accommodations be made."  
  
The slight creak from upstairs told him that Nero was probably peeking through the banister to listen in on. At least the kid didn't come barreling down like in the earlier days after he started to learn how to walk.  
  
"Cabot?" Dante whistled after checking through his mental maps and a quick glance at the one that hung next to the small fridge. "Hell of a trip you made to up here. And these 'accommodations' would happen to be..."  
  
"Placements of specific statues." Several photos were placed on his desk. To the normal eye, the gargoyle-like creatures looked like something out of fantasy role-playing game or the gargoyles that sat on older churches. "One of my subordinates who had been on site in helping supervising the setup had shown those statues to a cousin of hers out of curiosity. Apparently, her cousin either ran in the same circles as you do or knows... certain things, because her cousin had practically demanded that those statues be, and I quote, 'promptly pulverized to dust and thrown into lava because you do not want to leave those things with naive folks when the wine gets flowing', albeit with far more colorful language."  
  
To Dante, the statues reminded him of the Damned Chessmen and several even looked like Blood-Goyles, and there was still that twinge that screamed "demon" from the normal photographs. Demonic statues plus unsuspecting party goers plus flowing alcohol at a party equaled headache. Great. He supposed that it was a good thing both he and Lady had been reading up on property damage ordinances and insurance laws, and figuring out loopholes with some lawyers that were friendly with them. (Namely lawyers whose butts that he and Lady had had to bail out of various chompy and stabby situations. Sure, both of them still had to pay legal fees, but the discounts were good enough.)  
  
He tapped his pen while making out some of the details of the event hall. "I'm not going to be the only handyman there, am I?"  
  
Large galas meant a lot of civilians, and if there was one thing any hunter disliked, it was a large number of panicking civilians for one hunter to deal with. Rivalries aside, most tried to work together with the local law enforcement to get the normies - as some of the more snarkier ones termed - out safely.  
  
Mustang shook her head. "You won't be the only one asked to attend. Several of my colleagues had also shared their concerns with me privately and we had all agreed on requesting the services of several other hunters as 'additional private security'. However..."  
  
' _Figures._ ' "What's the catch?"  
  
"Black tie, and it's recommended if you came with an escort," Roy finally spoke up, stepping forward but staying behind his aunt. "We're asking the same of the others so as to hopefully not tip off whatever shenanigans that's being attempted. Since this charity is for St. Pharaildis Children's Hospital, many of the attending guests will be bringing their children along as well."  
  
Dante wasn't liking the train of thought his hunter side had started up, his protective devil instincts immediately trying to Million Stab on that idea's tires. He didn't need to see the hopeful look on Nero's face.  
  
And yet the fact that kids were also going to be present...  
  
Dante sighed, rubbing the back of his head in resignation. "Fine. But don't expect the venue to be standing in one piece, and whichever insurance companies that's covering this gig better be notified right."  
  
Mustang simply smiled, that nostalgic fondness in her eyes again.

-3-1-4-2-5-

"Do we hafta wear these things, Uncle Dante?" Nero grumbled, tugging at his necktie with one hand while still holding his plate in the other. Bad enough to be constantly cooed at "how adorable" he was by the many women who'd pass by them at the buffet table, much to his humiliation.  
  
"Stow it, squirt," Dante muttered from the corner of his mouth. He fought the urge to fuss with his bow tie, not liking the constricting sensation around his neck either or the feeling of the tuxedo that Roy had lent him. At least he was building up resistance on trying not to crow to the world on how cute his nephew was each time the boy rubbed his nose and blushed at the comments from most of the female guests. (Because he will call bullshit right there to their faces if they said otherwise because they're lying or they don't know any better.) "If I have to suffer through this, you have to suffer through this, too. You wanted to come, remember? To give me 'better cover'?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah." Nero finally gave up and decided to eat another fruit tart, sliding his gaze over to the waiters that were carrying trays of flutes and glasses.  
  
"No."  
  
Nero pouted. "I didn't even ask."  
  
Dante snorted, taking another sip of champagne from his flute, trying not to grimace at the taste. Give him whiskey or a good beer any day, even an ale. "I'm a lot of things, but letting a minor have access to alcohol isn't one of them. Don't need you buzzed and Child Services coming down on my ass."  
  
"You're drinking."  
  
"Legal age and can process it faster, kiddo." He subtly nodded his head in greeting at a hunter he recognized standing near the open balcony, the grizzled brunette returning with a two-finger salute. "Plus, we're still on the clock. Remember what we talked about?"  
  
"Things go pear-shaped, I make sure the other kids are safe," the quarter-devil recited softly, quickly becoming somber.  
  
"And you know to let Cerberus loose if it gets too hot?"  
  
"I let Cerberus loose if it gets too hot, Uncle." More serious, Nero went with nibbling the rest of his food pile. For whatever reason, the icy Hellhound was quite fond of Nero and allowed himself to be used by the young quarter-devil occasionally. (Although Nero was sure that it had to do with the fact that the left head really enjoyed scratches behind its ears, much to Cerberus and his right head's chagrin.)  
  
A sad smile, and Dante patted his nephew's head comfortingly, chest warming when Nero leaned into the gesture. While Nero had insisted on coming along with all of his childish attitude, the devil hunter could sense the desire to protect. He had lost count of the times of having to be called into the exasperated but understanding principal's office whenever Nero got into fights, namely those against bullies that were picking on their smaller schoolmates. While some of the more serious fights had to go into Nero's record, Dante couldn't help but be extremely proud of his nephew. ' _Heh, just like Father - awoken to justice._ '  
  
Heels clicking towards his direction brought him out of his musings and he had to blink at the sight of Lady in a rather stunning knee-length green dress rapidly headed towards their direction. The other guests that weren't neatly shoved aside barely moved out of the way, probably sensing her annoyance that was simmering right below the surface. Said annoyance was belied by the incredibly cheerful smile plastered on her face, while one hand was tightly clamped on a matching purse.  
  
"There you are! I've been looking all over for you two!"  
  
Even Nero was gawking, pausing on biting into his cheese stick.  
  
"La-"  
  
Dante got cut off when he felt a quick peck on his left cheek as toned arms all but threw themselves around his neck.  
  
"Play along. Bastard's been after me the whole night," she hissed into his ear.  
  
A low smirk when Dante spotted the unwanted pursuer squeezing his way through. "Took you long enough, babe. Been waiting for a long while," Dante purred loud enough for others to hear, his empty arm snaking around her waist.  
  
Disappointment showed on the young man's face when he finally caught up. "You-"  
  
Lady batted her eyelashes. "I forgot to mention about this. My apologies, Paulson."  
  
"You look real pretty, Auntie," Nero piped up, quickly catching on to the game. If it wasn't for the fact that they were more or less undercover, Nero would've been grinning.  
  
"Aw, why thank you." Lady couldn't help the genuine smile as she ruffled the boy's hair, much to his continuing embarrassment when he blushed again. "At least someone has good taste."  
  
Brown eyes whipped to the boy in further despair and stared. Stormy blue stared back, unblinking but not moving from behind Dante's leg. With a sigh, Paulson muttered something about another engagement and excused himself, making a beeline for the alcohol table.  
  
When the last of the curious stares turned away, Lady finally relaxed before frowning. "You can let go now."  
  
"No." A childish gleamed entered Dante's eyes, quite enjoying himself.  
  
She wriggled, but it was like trying to move a steel band. "Dante," Lady growled lowly.  
  
"Magic word," he teased in a sing-song tone. He hadn't had a chance to tease his old friend in a long while, and although Dante would never admit it out loud, he missed Lady being in his shop.  
  
"We're still on the clock, Uncle Dante," Nero muttered _sotto voce_ behind his glass of juice, eyes rolling at his relative's silliness.  
  
Lady looked back at him with a smirk. "See, even your nephew has some professionalism."  
  
Just as Dante reluctantly loosened his arm, screams rang out when one of the statues came to life with a roar, spitting out a glob of something sticky as it sent several of the guests crashing into a wall. That set off a chain reaction of the other demonic statues coming to life and sending the civilian guests panicking.  
  
"And I was just about to go for some of that wagyu prime rib roast." Dante sighed, eyes rolling upward in exasperation, twirling Ebony and Ivory out from his shoulder holsters. "Don't think they'll mind if I take the whole thing in this mess?"  
  
"Or you could bill it to your client afterwards. I'm going to get my mine to give me that high quality tiramisu." Tying her dress to the side revealed Lady had been wearing biker shorts and ammo pouches strapped to her thigh holsters. "Come on, let's get to work."  
  
Already, Nero had run off to gather up the children that couldn't get back to their parents in time, ushering them towards one of the "safe rooms" that had been set up with wards surreptitiously.  
  
"Yee-haw!" One of the hunters that the pair recognized flew past them, having used her scarf to lasso on to the tail of a flailing Blood-goyle and whooping as if it was a rodeo before pulling out her shotgun. "Show time, boys!"  
  
Dante shot a glare at Lady as he took off the head of a moth demon that was spawning far down the hall with Ebony. "And you call me unprofessional."  
  
Lady simply shrugged as she took off, SMG in one hand and her pistol in the other.  
  
In a way, the pair were glad for the presence of the additional hunters, even with the rivalries. Where most were obviously on extermination duty, several had split off to evacuate the civilians to safety and a couple had headed towards the kids' room. Dante was surprised to see Roy dashing about the chaos, snapping the fingers of one gloved hand that sent bursts of fire towards the more fleshly gargoyles, the other hand firing away what looked like a modified Beretta.  
  
"Fancy seeing you here!" Dante called out, easily sniping another moth demon with a thrown steak knife. "Neat trick, think you can teach me?"  
  
A smirk as Roy ducked talons. "If you can sit through years of classes, I might." A wasp-like demon burst into flames, shrieking into death as it turned to ashes.  
  
"Eh, I've got alternatives." A back flip turned into a bicycle kick, his steel toe boots crushing a jaw before finishing off with Ivory. "Who's your partner?"  
  
What sounded like a fond sigh that was almost missed amidst the hail of gunfire and screeching. "My wife."  
  
Dante had seen the blonde woman with her hair clipped up hanging on Roy's arm earlier, no doubt his escort for the night. While she looked like half of the trophy wives flitting about the hall, the blonde hid a no-nonsense air about her. Currently, she was practically dancing about with sheer efficiency and aiming precision alongside Lady's own firearms, pulling ammo magazines out from under her dress, no doubt having the same idea as Lady of hiding her holsters.  
  
A somewhat devious grin grew on Dante as an idea formed, causing a wary look from Roy. "Hey, Lady!"  
  
"A little busy here, Dante!" She punctuated her point by throwing a bottle of Holy Water into the air, which was promptly shattered by Roy's wife shooting it and causing much screeching of pain as the sanctified water rained down on a group of rushing demons.  
  
"Kill count contest! Me and Roy, you and his wife!"  
  
Lady bit back a groan. "Wager?"  
  
"Bragging rights! If not that, dinner at that fancy German restaurant four blocks north, losers pay!"  
  
She glanced over at her impromptu partner, who simply gazed back with confidence in tawny eyes. Lady smirked, slamming in a fresh magazine. "You're on!"

-3-1-4-2-5-

Between the women's cache of ammunition, Dante switching between Gunslinger and Trickster, and Roy's fire glove, the pairs wound up to a tie in the end. Roy ran a tired hand through his soaked hair, the sprinklers having activated when one of the gargoyles started spitting fireballs and caused the drapes to catch. He could already imagine the building's owners getting at it with the insurance agents and the lawyers. "So, how are we going to do with that wager?"  
  
Dante shrugged, watching the coroner, police, and one of the local priest take away the bodies had been the key source of the trouble of the charity gala. One of the hired hunters had found the room where the board member had been killed by her magic-practicing co-conspirator for stiffing on the payment, and the partner got his throat taken out when he lost control of summoning. Dante readjusted his grip on Nero's legs when the boy made several sleepy noises from his back. "Split the bill in half, I suppose. Sorry about ruining the tux. The party crashers weren't taking 'no' for an answer."  
  
"Nothing to worry about." Roy gave a wry smile, his own tuxedo equally ruined with tears and scorch marks. "I've been looking for an excuse to get rid of that particular one."  
  
In the distance, the men could see their female partners and fellow hunters talking with several police members that were taking their statements. Dante had already given his, and Roy was simply waiting for his turn, currently fiddling with a metal lighter that had what looked like an alchemical circle etched on its side. The large crowd of guests were also being sorted on having their statements taken down, although several had to be taken to the local hospitals for injuries. To the relief - and disbelief - of every hired hunter, no one had died, other than the perpetrators.  
  
"Ah, there you are, Dante, Roy-boy."  
  
Ignoring the put-upon sigh, Dante turned to see a somewhat mussed Chris Mustang walking up to them. "So, what's the damage?" He was already bracing for the high number on the deduction.  
  
Mustang simply shook her head, taking a drag of her cigarette after Roy lit it up before he got called in by an officer. "None. You'll be paid in full."  
  
Icy blue eyes widened in shock, having been so used to getting the pay docked often, mostly due to property destruction. "After this whole mess from the fire and water damages plus whatever amount of ammo we let loose?"  
  
"As I've said, you'll be paid in full." There was a mischievous glint in the older woman's eyes. "I specifically hired you. Each of us board members had hired individually so as to minimize the financial costs to the board's treasury when the insurance gives us their final calculations - we'll be paying most of the the non-covered damages ourselves. I'll also be wiring you a bonus, for your nephew's admirable assistance on keeping the children safe."  
  
Pride bloomed in his chest upon hearing that, and Dante fought the urge to rub the side of his nose like Nero would, opting to simply shrug. "Kid wanted to help. I'm not going to stop him from that."  
  
"A family tradition, I can certainly see that." Again, that look of melancholy as she looked at him, as if searching for something.  
  
Dante studied the older woman again in turn, a blank expression on his face this time. "You knew my mother, didn't you."  
  
The only sounds were that of the fire engines and hoses at work, and the chirps of the ambulances' sirens as they took off. Mustang finally sighed, turning away and taking a slow drag. "We were the best of friends from middle school and past college. We still kept in touch after I took over the family business and she went into demon hunting. Somewhere along the way, we had a fallout over something ridiculously childish and we stopped talking to each other. The last I heard of her was getting married before learning that she had died through one of my informants - seeing your surname when I was looking up devil hunters was pure coincidence, and I wanted to make sure." Mustang gazed at him sadly, regret weighing down on her shoulders. "You share some of her features, you know."  
  
That hidden spiked ball of grief that had lessened over the years flared a little. "Yeah, I know." Nero's soft breathing against the back of his neck soothed it back down, small arms draped over his shoulders and warm body bonelessly - and trustingly - relaxed against him as a living reminder.  
  
Another sigh, smoke billowing out from her nose. "In which case, expect your payment within two to three days. Regarding your wager between my nephew and niece-in-law, have it billed to my name. I hope you have a safe trip home."  
  
Dante still wasn't sure on what to make of the info bomb from the older woman as she walked off, simply nodding as she passed by Lady. Concern showed in heterochromatic eyes as the huntress reached him, recognizing his body language. "Are you going to be fine?"  
  
"...I'll be okay." Granted, it wasn't the same maelstrom of emotions he had felt when he first met Nero, but meeting someone from his mother's past was an unexpected surprise. Good or bad, Dante didn't know yet.  
  
Lady simply hummed thoughtfully, watching as the first responders continued their work on putting out the fires and treating the injured.  
  
"By the way..."  
  
She side-eyed him warily, already a bit exhausted.  
  
Dante returned the look back. "What the hell was with that kiss? You could've just said it." Gray eyebrows waggled suggestively. "Thinking seriously about it?"  
  
An internal debate went on inside her. Either Lady could tell him that it was primarily to get her tail off of her, tell him that maybe there was that little "something", or she could just say nothing.  
  
Simply smirking, Lady decided to not answer and headed towards her car, ignoring the protests that followed after her. Her client had promised the tiramisu she wanted, and she was going to savor the dessert.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I can see Dante with an old school typewriter. I actually got myself one and I thought it'd fit with his old school _rotary_ phone.
> 
> Why, yes, Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye of _Fullmetal Alchemist_ as guests. Chris Mustang is actually Christmas Mustang, Roy's biological aunt/adopted mother.
> 
> St. Pharaildis is the patron saint in regards to curing childhood diseases. Obviously, inspiration from the real world [St. Jude Children's Research Hospital](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Jude_Children%27s_Research_Hospital).
> 
> Re-posting this separately so that it'll be easier on myself to keep track. Day 19 from Smootch-tober 2018, "fake dating kiss" in "[Bouquet of Calendula](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16173560/chapters/38906768)".


End file.
